Earthworm Jim should be familiar to gamers who were active in the 16-bit console era. The cartoon worm experienced a burst of popularity in the '90s thanks to the unique level settings and comical animations that defined his adventures.
Earthworm Jim was revived several times over to battle his crazy enemies across newer consoles. Now he's paused for a breather on the Nintendo DSi as DSiWare download, and playing through his rubbery journey unlocks an uncomfortable truth: Earthworm Jim is not very fun to play.
Developer: Shiny Entertainment
Publisher: Gameloft
ESRB Rating: E10+
Genre: Platforming
500 Points
Earthworm Jim was revived several times over to battle his crazy enemies across newer consoles. Now he's paused for a breather on the Nintendo DSi as DSiWare download, and playing through his rubbery journey unlocks an uncomfortable truth: Earthworm Jim is not very fun to play.
Developer: Shiny Entertainment
Publisher: Gameloft
ESRB Rating: E10+
Genre: Platforming
500 Points
The Basics
Earthworm Jim is the story of a everyday earthworm named Jim who happened to have a power suit fall on him from space. Suddenly finding himself in possession of superhuman (superworm?) powers, Jim sets off on a journey to save Princess Whatshername from her twisted sister, the evil Queen Slug-For-A-Butt. Jim also keeps a sharp eye out for PsyCrow, who lost the power suit in the first place and would appreciate getting it back--by force, if necessary.
Earthworm Jim's levels will take the worm to hell and back. Literally. The game is primarily a 2D platformer, and involves a lot of jumping and shooting. Jim can also use his head as a whip, which comes in handy for defeating enemies, swinging on hooks and hanging from wires. Some levels end with a boss fight and/or a 3D racing minigame wherein Jim must beat PsyCrow to the finish line.
Earthworm Jim's levels will take the worm to hell and back. Literally. The game is primarily a 2D platformer, and involves a lot of jumping and shooting. Jim can also use his head as a whip, which comes in handy for defeating enemies, swinging on hooks and hanging from wires. Some levels end with a boss fight and/or a 3D racing minigame wherein Jim must beat PsyCrow to the finish line.
Pros
There's A Difficulty Setting - Earthworm Jim has never been an easy game but the Nintendo DSi adaptation gives you the option of playing on a lighter difficulty setting. You'll receive hints on how to defeat enemies, and Jim takes less damage from bad guys.
The Graphics are Still Charming - When it first launched, Earthworm Jim astounded gamers with its graphics, which are almost on par with a high quality Saturday morning cartoon. As it happens, Jim's antics are still a lot of fun to witness. He launches cows, battles garbagemen, and occasionally has his pants fall down. Earthworm Jim's visuals are just very loose and fun.
There's a Camera-based Mini Game - Gameloft got some use out of the Nintendo DSi's camera by including a photography mini game. You, along with Jim, center your head in a cow cut-out. Then you match Jim's expression. It's not particularly difficult, but it's an easy way to grab some extra power-ups.
The Graphics are Still Charming - When it first launched, Earthworm Jim astounded gamers with its graphics, which are almost on par with a high quality Saturday morning cartoon. As it happens, Jim's antics are still a lot of fun to witness. He launches cows, battles garbagemen, and occasionally has his pants fall down. Earthworm Jim's visuals are just very loose and fun.
There's a Camera-based Mini Game - Gameloft got some use out of the Nintendo DSi's camera by including a photography mini game. You, along with Jim, center your head in a cow cut-out. Then you match Jim's expression. It's not particularly difficult, but it's an easy way to grab some extra power-ups.
Cons
The Controls Are Poor - In Earthworm Jim, you do a lot of jumping. And you miss a lot of those jumps because Jim's movements feel loose and floaty. And you scramble back up to your perch to try again. Eventually, you'll get it right. Or you might just get tired with the whole business and give up.
Earthworm Jim doesn't simply require jumping--it requires a lot of accurate jumping, to say nothing of mid-air hook-grabs that Jim performs with his whip. Early in the game, most of your bad jumps will set you on forgiving ground. A little later on, you'll have to contend with pits and spikes.
The Sound Conversion is Bad - For all its original faults, most of which Gameloft can't really be held accountable for, Earthworm Jim boasted a charismatic soundtrack full of funky beats and electric guitars (and elevator music, at least in hell). Unfortunately, the score comes through the Nintendo DSi's speakers as fuzzy mush, and the slapstick sound effects are overwhelming. You can turn off the music and/or the sound effects in the DSiWare version of the game, but there's no option to simply lower one or the other.
The Game Is Just Plain Frustrating - Earthworm Jim is a punishing game. There are moments where surgeon-precise finesse is required of the player (like a segment wherein Jim pilots an extremely fragile goldfish bowl through narrow rocky passageways), or else tedious memorization (a level wherein Jim guides a puppy friend through a level brimming with hazards).
Earthworm Jim doesn't simply require jumping--it requires a lot of accurate jumping, to say nothing of mid-air hook-grabs that Jim performs with his whip. Early in the game, most of your bad jumps will set you on forgiving ground. A little later on, you'll have to contend with pits and spikes.
The Sound Conversion is Bad - For all its original faults, most of which Gameloft can't really be held accountable for, Earthworm Jim boasted a charismatic soundtrack full of funky beats and electric guitars (and elevator music, at least in hell). Unfortunately, the score comes through the Nintendo DSi's speakers as fuzzy mush, and the slapstick sound effects are overwhelming. You can turn off the music and/or the sound effects in the DSiWare version of the game, but there's no option to simply lower one or the other.
The Game Is Just Plain Frustrating - Earthworm Jim is a punishing game. There are moments where surgeon-precise finesse is required of the player (like a segment wherein Jim pilots an extremely fragile goldfish bowl through narrow rocky passageways), or else tedious memorization (a level wherein Jim guides a puppy friend through a level brimming with hazards).
Conclusion
Earthworm Jim for the Nintendo DSi makes some genuine efforts to repair the gameplay flaws that plagued its source material. Unfortunately, it's not enough. Earthworm Jim is lots of fun to look at and listen to, but of course there's little point in owning a game that's not fun and satisfying to play.
